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Manzanita Campground is a small, year-round, tent-only facility with campsites that fill up very quickly. Visitors enjoy the campground for its fishing and swimming holes along Oak Creek, beautiful scenery and excellent wildlife watching. Oak Creek Canyon is very crowded, especially on weekends; to get a campsite, it is best to reserve a weekday. Recreation Recreation and relaxation abound in Oak Creek Canyon. Camping, fishing, swimming, wading and hiking are some of the activities awaiting visitors. Anglers have the convenience of creekside campsites, where they can cast a line for trout. Families love driving down the road to nearby Slide Rock State Park, one of Arizona's most popular swimming spots, or trying out several nearby hiking trails. Facilities The campground is very easy to access and has paved parking. It is made up of single-family campsites that are fairly close together. Each site has a picnic table, campfire ring and grill. A campground host is available for visitor assistance. Firewood can be purchased on-site. Coin-operated showers ($4 minimum) are available at Cave Springs Campground just up the road. Campground has 7 first-come-first-serve sites which are often occupied. Campground host is unable to "hold" any first-come-first-serve sites for customers. Natural Features The campground borders Oak Creek in a lush, forested riparian zone with Arizona ash and box elders, gravel beaches and stream-bed boulders. Colorful songbirds add flashes of brilliance to the trees. The creek's crystal clear waters are cool and refreshing on hot summer days. Nearby Attractions The well-known town of Sedona is popular for its red rock vistas, resorts and shopping. Slide Rock State Park is a great local spot for swimming and only a few minutes away. Campers can also explore the 1.8 million-acre Coconino National Forest, which boasts a spectacular variety of scenery and outdoor activities. ADA Access: N
From Phoenix, take I-17 north to Exit 298 for Highway 179. Take 179 north to Sedona. Turn right (north) onto Highway 89A in Oak Creek Canyon and travel 6 miles to the campground.
From Flagstaff, take I-17 south and exit for Highway 89A toward Sedona. Travel 23 miles south on 89A (a winding mountain road) into Oak Creek Canyon. The campground is located just south of Slide Rock State Park.
Beautiful, creek-side campground!
Campsite will cost less than $20 a night, compared to a lodge/hotel room nearby for 10x that price.
Waterfront sites available.
The campground is very peaceful and quiet.
This is not a place where you'll have to listen to other campsites blaring music or making noise at night.
I prefer sites 12 and 13 for the view but they are smaller and allow for one tent. Sites 10, 14, and 15 are more spacious and are located in good spots.
Keep your food and garbage tied up and off of the ground. A friendly little skunk came to visit me in the night and wasn't afraid of me or my efforts to drive him off.
The Camp Host is very friendly and helpful.
Firewood bundles can be purchased until dusk from the Camp Host. Bundles cost $7 and will last around 2 hours if you like a decent fire.
The fire ring is 18" high and not so great for cooking but it does have a swinging grate to boil water, heat foods and make coffee.
The campground is in a deep valley with high ridges on all sides. Sunrise will be late and sunset will be early so remember that when utilizing sunlight. Be prepared for long cool nights.
Pros: Near Sedona and walkable distance to Slide rock State Park.
Near the river and water sound helps sleeping.
Cons: Next to the road and noisy all night.
The loop road is very narrow and you have to be careful on rocks.
They don't have a flush toilet, that's really disgusting.
Beautiful small campground that backs up to the creek. Lots of trout. Very peaceful because there are not a lot of camp spots. Rangers and manager of campground were very welcoming and nice. Bathrooms were clean. No showers which is fine for us.
Had an amazing stay over Christmas. Smaller loop campground, checked in with friendly manager upon arrival and had no issues at any point during stay. We stayed at site 17 which was great as it backed into the creek. The creek provided a nice area to pick through rocks and picnic. No complaints with toilets or trash—the moonlight & stars were unreal. The campsite was about a 17min drive into main strip Sedona and 2.5hours to Horseshoe Bend/Antelope Canyon.
It is an absolutely beautiful location on Oak Creek. The highway is above the campground, so don't expect to be exclusively submerged in nature's sights and sounds. Campsites are close to one another but contain a grill, fire ring, and picnic table. The restrooms were clean. "Drinking" water had a green tinge to it. I recommend bringing water to drink. We went in January and were one of 4 sites occupied, but there are only 20 sites, so I can see the campground filling early most of the year.
